Misunderstanding
by NejiKikyoAnimeRose
Summary: Naruto cheated on Neji. But Naruto doesn't remember doing anything of the sort. NaruNeji, NaruSasu, might be others, you'll have to read to find out.
1. Discover

Neji was in a wonderful mood. He had just returned from a very successful mission in one week, when it was estimated that two weeks would be needed; Lee had not been difficult with the mission report as Neji had predicted and they had finished it very quickly, and then, in a spectacular twist of fate, Gai had not called an immediate post-mission training session for old time's sake as he usually did, which meant that Neji could go home and spend a relaxing evening in his lover's company doing absolutely nothing but allowing the blonde maniac to wait on him hand and foot.

He allowed himself a small smile as he fitted his key into the lock of his and Naruto's shared apartment, berating himself for being so excited at the prospect of seeing the Uzumaki again. He opened the door, prepared to see a mess of an apartment that Naruto would somehow manage to persuade him to clean.

What he found was infinitely worse.

Naruto. His Naruto. His boyfriend, his lover, his beloved. On top of Uchiha Sasuke, on their bed, naked, pounding into him. Hard.

Neji froze and stared. Against his will, he blushed bright red. His heart began to pound in his chest and he soon found it hard to breathe. However, before he could voice any indignation at having caught his lover having sex with another man, he turned around and swiftly left, closing the door firmly behind him. He quickly fumbled with his key and relocked the door, taking no notice of any of the sounds emanating from his apartment. He just wanted to be as far from that place, and Naruto, as possible.

The Hyuuga hurried down the hall and to the stairs, ripping the door open and all but flinging himself down the dangerous steps. He wasn't one to cry hysterically, but that didn't mean that he wasn't hurt. No, the sight of the man he loved intentionally cheating on him with someone he believed to be a friend hurt more than he could possibly describe. And it didn't help that Naruto had changed Neji's life in both the best and worst way possible. It didn't help that Neji had believed the blonde's words and built his new life with them as its foundation! That only made it worse.

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and doubled over, falling to his knees, his heart clenching in a mixture of anger, hurt, and confusion. Had he done something wrong? Had he said something wrong that made Naruto stop loving him? Was Naruto still too angry at him after all these years and had just had enough? Well, why couldn't Naruto just tell him that, then! Why did he have to cheat on him!

Neji shut his eyes tightly, trying to block the images out, determinedly ignoring the prickling of a few tears at his eyes. Dammit, Naruto was not worth crying over! Naruto was not worth getting angry over! If Naruto was willing to throw everything they had away, then so be it! Neji would not be the one to go to pieces!

Taking deep calming breaths, Neji slowly pulled himself up and willed the tension in his shoulders to pass out of him. He relaxed his eyes and parted his lips to allow the soothing air to pass through them easier.

_Calm down..._ he told himself. _Just calm down and analyze the situation. _Neji froze at this thought. Analyze what happened? Naruto cheated on him. There. Done. Nothing more to analyze, nothing more to the situation. Naruto was unfaithful, and that was it. All there was to it.

Closing his eyes, Neji let out a sigh and turned around.

Dammit all. Neji remembered a time when he wouldn't have been this vulnerable, when he had been able to push these feelings down in an instant. Now that self had been destroyed, Naruto had banished him from Neji's heart, mind, and soul.

And right now, Neji missed him. A lot. And was willing to get on Naruto's bad side again to have this former self back, just so no one could see how much he was really hurting.

Turning on his heel, Neji walked calmly back to his apartment, this time knocking on the door softly.

"Naruto?" he called to the large red door, sincerely wishing that Naruto would just stay on _the other_ side of it. "I'm back from my mission." There was a noise inside the apartment that Neji chose not to associate with Sasuke, and it took a while for Naruto to get the door.

Before, he would've been all over Neji as soon as the other opened the door.

Now, it seemed, he was busy hiding Sasuke away so he wouldn't be caught. And to think Neji had put so much faith in him.

The Hyuuga let out a sigh and the door was opened, revealing a rather disgruntled Naruto. Neji had to fight from wincing at the blonde's beaming face. His smile was so like the ones he had always given Neji. Had they all been lies too? Had Neji just been something with which to pass time until the Uzumaki could get Sasuke? Neji inwardly shook his head. If so, then he had been foolish.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Neji beat him to it, locking his eyes on the blonde's claw marks, not his deep blue eyes that he didn't trust anymore.

"Are you busy?" he asked. Naruto blinked and shook his head, slightly taken aback.

"No, why would you say that, Neji?" he returned evenly, his voice conveying innocent confusion, as Naruto-like as always. Neji looked away from him, harshly closing his eyes and releasing a breathy sigh.

"Very well," he said. "I'm going to bed now." Leaning up to peck Naruto quickly on the cheek, as far from the other's soft lips as possible, Neji turned and walked off to the bathroom to perform his nightly rituals, leaving a rather puzzled Naruto in his wake.

As soon as the door closed, Neji activated his Byakugan and watched as Naruto moved cautiously to the closet in which Sasuke hid. Neji looked on silently, tense, as Naruto pulled Sasuke out of the confined area and gestured for him to leave. Neji was thankful he couldn't hear the words Naruto spoke to the Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded once and moved to leave, but Naruto stopped him and turned him around, dropping a kiss on his lips.

Neji's breath caught in his throat.

He absentmindedly deactivated his Byakugan and turned away, shutting his eyes, debating with himself. Should he just leave now? Or should he stay and maybe try to figure out more about this affair? How long it had been going on? When it had started? Why it had started?

Neji paused, bringing this thought to a stop. If he were to do this, then he would have to sacrifice the rest of his heart. Bringing his hand to his chest, Neji's brow furrowed and he shook his head.

No. He would not bring further pain upon himself by suffering silently. He would not go through hell once more just to try and bring Naruto's love back to him.

"Neji! What the hell are you doing in there?" Naruto's boyish voice sounded through the door and Neji flinched. "Come on, what does a guy hafta do to get his boyfriend to spend five minutes with him!"

Neji gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists so tight the skin on his palms began to break under the pressure of his nails. So Naruto was just going to keep lying to him about it? Did he not mean enough to the Uzumaki so that he did not feel the least bit of guilt over what he had done?

Once more biting back tears, Neji moved swiftly to the closed window and quietly opened it, jumping into a crouched position on the sill.

Ignoring Naruto's questioning calls for him on the other side of the bathroom door, the Hyuuga jumped from the sill and fled, heading to the one place he knew he could be alone.

* * *

Naruto blinked confusedly as his calls went unnoticed by his boyfriend. That was odd. Usually Neji would be all snugly and adorable when he or Naruto just returned from a long mission. What was up?

Naruto moved to the bathroom door, pouting slightly from the lack of attention his lover was giving him.

"Oi! Neji!" he tried again, pounding on the door loudly. "Come on, get out here! You haven't even been here that long, come on, throw me a bone, here!" Yet again, his pleas were ignored, and the blonde began to worry slightly. What was wrong with Neji? Did something happen on his mission? Did he get hurt? Did he see something that he couldn't forget? Did something happen to Lee or Tenten? What the hell was UP!?

"Alright, that's it, I'm coming in!" Naruto shouted, throwing caution to the winds. He pulled back his fist and let it fly with a grunt. It slammed into the door, sending the innocent thing flying off its hinges. Naruto ran into the room and stopped, frozen, when he caught sight of the open window. Neji was nowhere in sight.

Somewhere within him, something laughed...a deep rumbling sound that sent shivers down his spine, as a very familiar voice growled cruelly in his ear.

**He knows.**

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**Ok. So, this is something I just randomly came up with, and might continue, depending on my muse, which, right now, is exhausted. **

**Honestly, I have no idea where this fic will end up, so if I continue it, I'm going to be adlibing basically the entire thing! **

**Read, review, all that jazz.  
**


	2. Under Cover of Night

Neji sighed and allowed himself the luxury of falling gracelessly onto the grass. He slowly exhaled as he reclined to lie on his back, his arms sprawled haphazardly beside him. Above his head, the moon was partially covered by thin wisps of cloud. He could hardly see the stars.

He closed his eyes and took long deep breaths, feeling much less suffocated out in the peaceful night than in the small tight apartment. Neji had never liked Naruto's apartment, and had made a big deal of telling Naruto that, but the Uzumaki had always refused to look for a new one, using the reasoning that this one held too many memories from his younger days. Now, _that_ Neji understood.

He still didn't like the apartment though.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips as he thought of the irony of the current situation. Would cheating on his lover be added to Naruto's list of 'things to remember'?

Neji wanted to close his eyes tight and forget everything that had ever happened that night. He wanted to have arrived back from his mission to warm hugs and loving kisses. He wanted to hear Naruto's whiny voice asking him why he didn't write _at all_ while he was away.

He wanted to stop the tears that still stung at the backs of his eyes even now so that he could have one moment's peace.

He wanted to just _stop caring_.

"Never thought I'd see you here."

Neji blinked and turned his gaze to a rather bemused Nara Shikamaru. Or was he just amused? The Hyuuga's eyebrow rose and he pushed himself up so that he rested on his elbows.

"Nara Shikamaru," he said quietly, his voice even and closed off and _everything _universally known as Hyuuga Neji. The younger scoffed and moved to sit beside Neji.

"Nice observation," he sighed as he flopped down onto his back, hands cushioning his head. Neji watched him like one would watch an unusual animal; with silent fascination.

After a moment of tense silence – though Neji suspected that he was the only one of the two of them who felt any tension at all – the brunette man decided to speak up.

"What are you doing here so late?" He went with the obvious question, even though it left his own reason for being there so late open to questioning as well. Shikamaru made an irritated noise and his eyes fell shut in a tired movement.

"Mom's yelling at dad again," he supplied with a sigh. "It's too loud at home so I came out here, looking for quiet." His question answered, Neji nodded and made to lie back down, but something caught his attention before he could. Sitting up rather abruptly, he turned to face Shikamaru fully, his brows furrowed in civil confusion.

"Your mother yells at your father?" he questioned lightly, his mild concern showing through the layers of indifference. Shikamaru cast him a sidelong glance.

"Yeah," he answered simply. "Knowing her, it'd be weird if she didn't." He chuckled at this and Neji blinked.

"What I mean to ask is if your mother is _allowed_ to yell at your father," the Jounin clarified. His conversation partner turned his head to look at him with an amused sort of mild perplexity.

"Yes, she's _allowed_ to yell at dad," he returned. "It's her favorite pastime. Why? Your mom not allowed to yell at your dad?" Neji stiffened at the mention of his deceased parents, but responded out of propriety.

"No woman in the Hyuuga clan has the right to raise her voice to a male," he said, his pride rather evident in his voice. "It's disgraceful." Shikamaru snickered and shook his head.

"How quaint," he muttered. Indignantly, Neji straightened, looking irately at the offending Chuunin.

"Well, what's wrong with it?" he demanded. The Nara held up his hands in a peace gesture, crooked smirk still resting on his features.

"Did anything I say give any implications that I thought it was wrong?" he asked. The Hyuuga glared and reluctantly shook his head. Shikamaru grinned at him.

"So don't assume," he drawled. Neji once again bristled at the patronizing tone in the Nara's voice. Really, was this entire exchange just a form of entertainment for him?

Schooling his features to his usual aloof scowl, Neji began to push himself up, mildly surprised when he felt Shikamaru's hand grip his forearm.

"Hold up a second there, Hyuuga," the Nara said. Neji didn't bother to turn around as he grunted in response. Behind him, he heard Shikamaru sit up himself, all the while muttering about the unnecessary effort he'd just exerted. He sighed and paused, catching the breath he really hadn't lost to begin with.

"I answered your question, now it's your turn," he said in one exhaled breath. "What are you doing here so late?" The Hyuuga sat silently for a moment as he contemplated his answer. Shikamaru waited in an unnervingly patient silence.

"I just need to relieve some stress," Neji finally conceded. "And that's all you really need know." His tone of finality, he knew, was not lost on Shikamaru. This became even clearer as the Nara released his arm and fell back down to the earth.

"Rough night?" he asked knowingly. Neji scoffed.

"You have no idea," he said, his voice tired and worn. Shikamaru gave an empathetic chuckle.

"I probably don't if it's enough to stress you out," he said with a grin. Neji rolled his eyes and some of the awkwardness from before lifted, and Neji was relieved.

Cautiously, slightly reluctantly, Neji leaned back slowly until his back hit the soft grass-covered ground. Neither he nor Shikamaru said a word. It took a moment for the normally stiff and proud Hyuuga to let go even a fraction of what he let go around Naruto. He was surprised how relaxed letting even that much go made him feel.

As time slowly passed, Neji found himself falling into a slightly meditative state. His eyes closed, yet he was still perfectly aware of his surroundings, his body relaxed completely and he began to push out many of the troublesome thoughts that plagued his mind.

For the moment, Neji felt completely at ease.

Shikamaru let out a particularly long and heavy breath. Neji's eyes snapped open and his head whipped around to survey the lazy deer boy. Shikamaru's face was as it always was; without stress, without anger, and without fatigue. Shikamaru was truly the essence of serenity, Neji decided.

"How do you do it?" he asked a little demandingly.

"Hm?" Shikamaru's eyes flicked over to rest on Neji's and he turned slightly. Neji's brow furrowed.

"How do you manage to be so...calm?" he asked, and then stopped. "No, that's not the right word." Neji looked away and tried to find the right description for Shikamaru. The Nara watched him with a grin. Finally, the Hyuuga's brow twitched and he gritted his teeth.

"Dammit, what are you looking at me for?" he spat pointedly. "It's getting very unnerving." Shikamaru couldn't take anymore. He started laughing. Neji turned slightly red from embarrassment and glared.

"I don't see what's so funny," he growled. Shikamaru ignored him as his laughter subsided.

"You know, Hyuuga, you are something else," he said, small chortles still emanating from his throat every now and then. Neji arched a brow.

"Wonderful," he said sarcastically. "Exactly the answer I wanted from you." He turned away with a sneer and controlled the urge to make a rather snide comment. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, sobered and no longer laughing.

"You don't have to take this so personally, Hyuuga," he pointed out.

"You were laughing at me," Neji responded dryly. The Nara nodded slowly.

"True," he admitted. "I guess you can take it personally, then." He gave a small laugh and shrugged, falling back down to the grass.

Neji sighed beside him and followed suit, falling onto his back as well. He allowed his eyes to close and tried once more to achieve a calm state of being.

Shikamaru's presence, unfortunately, made it impossible.

~ X ~

Naruto, like the dumb blonde he was, still stood in the now door-less entry way of the bathroom, staring like an idiot at the window.

However, with Neji so suddenly missing, he couldn't care less what he looked like.

The laughing came again, but this time, no words accompanied the vile sound. It still managed to shock Naruto from his stupor.

"Dammit, you fucking fox!" he shouted aloud. "What the hell'd you do!?" His demand was answered with more wordless laughter and cruel snickers. The blonde growled.

"Answer me, you bastard!" he snarled. "Why the hell was Neji so distant! What the hell did you _do _while I was asleep!?" Once more, laughter filled Naruto's mind, but just as he was about to lose his rapidly thinning patience, an image flitted across his vision. He blinked, not quite sure what it was. It looked only like a blur of color; black hair, cold eyes, aggressive features. All underneath and fighting with what looked to be some sort of not-as-pale, more tanned, blonde thing. He couldn't really tell who either of them were.

Then the fox let out a guffaw and let the colors take shape and form discernible images.

When they finally became clear, Naruto turned a sickly shade of pasty white. He could literally feel the blood and color drain from his face as the scene played out before him.

Uchiha. Sasuke. Bed. Naruto. Sex. At that point, those torn fragments of thoughts were the only things Naruto's poor brain could supply him with in its current state of shock and mortification.

And then, another picture flashed in front of him, this one perfectly clear and far too real for Naruto's liking.

Brown hair, long and silky, white eyes, round and shocked, delicate yet powerful features, contorted with a mixture of emotions Naruto never wanted to see on that perfect face. Trickles of nervous sweat beading at his forehead and dripping down his sickly green-tinged cheeks.

"Neji," Naruto's voice sounded far away and unsteady in his ears. He took a step towards the illusion but it quickly began to disappear. The shinobi panicked.

"No, Neji!" he called out, his voice cracking as the image of his lover faded from his mind.

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**Okay, so I found this upon rooting around my old stories and it was on my flashdrive (which I thought had broken) and I decided I should put it up so that anyone who still reads this can see the next chptr (that I planned immediately after starting this). Enjoy!**

**Drop a line or two before you go if ya could. Thankies!  
**


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